The Official MTG Snowstorm Thread

This was after that. We were actually spitballing the concept of how her children died and what happened directly after that.

Where?

One step away from calling someone the C man already, I see.

Anyone else likes the image of exhausted people getting into fisticuffs? Something about that is so appealing to me.

Behold, an update to Chillbrass.

Although I don't have the maker's permission.

You need to shoddily erase one of his ears to make it fit with the lore.

>youtube.com/watch?v=eab5d38UOxE#t=11m33s

Fast forward to eleven and a half minutes. Sort of gives you what you want.

There is an update?

Hey, I'm going to post what I have with the Nishal/Iosha/Belloski story. It's not done, and it's not a lot. But it's what I've got. Let me know what you think.
______

In the days following, while Iosha labored on the ship, Nishal often found he had too much time on his hands. Sure, he ran errands for his friend when he could, but the stubborn artificer much preferred to work on her “baby” alone. Nishal was not offended. He knew she was proud of her work, and a fine work it was. She was right to be a tad protective of the inter-planar marvel. So instead, the leonin spent his time becoming acquainted with the winding streets of Ravnica. What a fascinating plane this was! Literally every street corner held a new oddity, every alley was a door to a new world. Each market held its own scents, sights, sounds, and cultures. The ten guilds all had their own unique take on existence, and while a fight between two or more guilds was not terribly uncommon, most conflicts ended quickly enough and (with Nishal’s occasional intervention) with no serious casualties to account for. It was marvelous, in its own way. The city itself seemed alive. And when Nishal was not wandering the streets, taking in the sights, he could always count on Del’s.

Del’s was an equally peculiar place. Full of small jokes, boisterous guests, and the finest cooking this side of Ravnica, it felt oddly secure and insulated to Nishal. If ever he wanted to escape the barely controlled insanity of the streets, he would take some time away from it all and just sit down to a fine bowl of soup make by his new planeswalker friend. This was one such evening.

>cont'd

The setting was calm. Del the weird was wiping down the counter, putting just the slightest touch of magic in his strokes. And Nishal was lounging tranquilly in a booth, legs outstretched and arms tucked comfortably behind his head. For the moment, no one else was in the small shop. Nishal had nearly drifted off to sleep, when a bell chime nudged him awake. It was only the doorbell. Someone had come into the shop at this late evening hour.

“Evenin’, stranger! Welcome to Del’s,” the weird bellowed cheerfully. Nishal could hear Del lumber out from behind the counter to greet the new guest.

The leonin yawned and stretched, his gaping lion’s maw showing off his deadly fangs. He scratched behind an ear and peered out at the stranger with a weary eye. The figure was heavily cloaked, so Nishal could not quite make out its features. But the long reptilian tail poking out from behind its robes was a dead giveaway that he could rule out any humanoid race. The stranger nodded to Del, the big weird eagerly welcoming him.

“Normally I don’t take new customers at such a late hour, but I’ve got a good feeling about you, friend!” Del reached out with a "hand" to grasp the stranger's, and shook it warmly.

>cont'd

‘There he goes again’, Nishal thought, ‘buttering up the guests. Making them feel at home.’ He smiled and chuckled to himself. Del was a most excellent salesman. The weird released the stranger’s half-gloved hand.

“So my friend, what can I do for you?”

The figure cocked its head, regarding Del for a moment. Then he spoke, and with a voice like layered velvet.

“Oh, nothing much I’m afraid, ‘friend’,” he purred. “Actually, I’ve come to your fine…establishment seeking that one yonder.” The cloaked man raised a hand (or was that a claw?), and motioned to Nishal.

“Though,” here he paused a moment, cocking his head another way. Nishal couldn’t help but think of a bird regarding its prey. “Perhaps when our business is concluded, I will…peruse your wares. Perhaps even bargain you some for my own?”

Del seemed a tad taken aback. But, ever the salesman and host, he quickly regained his composure.
“Very well, stranger. But be mindful you are a guest in my shop. Don’t ya be makin’ a mess or anything. I’ve almost got this place ordered again after a long day’s work! And besides, my colleague can certainly handle himself iff’n you feel like causing trouble.” Del turned to Nishal, and the cat nodded back to him, signaling that he did not mind speaking to this new mysterious guest. Even if the odd reptile did send the slightest of chills down his spine.

And so Del returned to his work, cleaning the counters and organizing stock. The reptilian came to greet Nishal. And the leonin stood, meeting him a few steps out from the booth. If this stranger was in fact intent on causing trouble, Nishal would rather be on his feet than on his haunches. The cat outstretched a paw, and shook hands with the man.

“I suppose it is good to meet you,” Nishal started. “and I’m sure, since you sought me out, that you are already acquainted with my name. But what may I call you…sir?”

>cont'd

Nishal was not sure how, but somehow he knew the hooded figure was smiling when he spoke. He gently covered Nishal’s paw with his other scaled hand, grasping it firmly between the two, and replied with quiet intent.

“My name I prefer to use at little as possible, if you don’t mind. For you see, I have many competitors, many rivals whom I would rather not know my day-to-day activities. You understand, yes? There’s a good lad.” Here the sly fellow patted the cat’s paw almost reassuringly. “But for the moment, you may call me Mr. Merchant. A simple enough title to remember. And I’m sure you’ll do well to remember it.” Was that a threat? Nishal genuinely was not sure. He began to protest, but-

“Shall we sit?” The creature gestured to the booth, interrupting Nishal before he began. The leonine did not move, but simply looked at the merchant. He peered under the hood, trying to see this myserious benefactor’s face. But, whether due to poor lighting or a slight enchantment, Nishal could make out nothing but shadow.

“Please. The booth. I’m an old man, and I’m so very tired,” Mr. Merchant hummed. Nishal sighed and sat. The lizard took his perch across from him. There was an uneasy silence before Nishal began negotiations.

“Enough exposition. Why have you sought me out? A merchant is one who buys and trades wares. Is there something I have that you want?” Nishal was a tad defensive. But who could blame him? Mr. Merchant was being far from forthright and quite frankly the leonine was starting to get annoyed.

>fin

Welp. That's what I have so far. Thought?

I'm thinking of making a flake plane and a new flake race... Anyone want to help build this for some good concepts and flavor?

I like the idea of blue skinned Devils and Demons.

Djin from tarkir. Use them.

Sounds like you should take some influence from rakshasa. Maybe read a little bit of K6BD for inspiration.

Can Djinn have sparks though? I thought they were magics being's that weren't actually born.

Tarkir djinn and efreets appear to be born.

This is basically the MTG lore thread right? Only slightly more faggy?

I have a question about the multiverse: how knowledgeable are the people of Dominaria on the existence of planeswalkers? I imagine if you asked any experienced mage there about planeswalkers they'd reply "fuck those guys".

There should be actual MTG lore thread too.

Faggier by a multitude of ten. If anything, we need more basic discussion of the lore in this thread to ask these questions.

There's no evidence anywhere but if there is any plane where planeswalkers are (relatively) common knowledge, Dominaria would be it. Your average civilian is likely to be ignorant but even the wise man of a town in Dominaria is likely to be aware and on watch for mysterious strangers carrying the motifs of foreign cultures and wielding strange magic.

These threads ignore the lore to a startling degree, unfortunately.
That said, Dominaria would likely be one of two planes most likely to find someone who knows of planeswalkers (and other planes of existence). The common man would likely not know, nor the common mage either, but the learned would likely know of those who caused the many disasters that wracked the plane, of the Invasion centuries ago, etc. Of course, this is assuming that we're speaking post-mending, when people can actually live and not spend every day just trying to survive.
The other plane would be Kamigawa, specifically the moonfolk of Kamigawa, what with Tamiyo telling them all about everything.

Not bad. I'm digging how you do Belloski. He seems suitably conniving and arrogant.

Thanks m8. I'll finish it one day, I swear.

There is one every Wednesday

I was thinking more the very last fight in s-CRY-ed after both of their powers break.

Historians would probably be the best to ask about pw on Dominaria

I like this

Bumping so I can read it when I get back home

That was very enjoyable. I've been horribly unproductive today, sorry about that but I guess it's just a slow day all around.

Her smile couldn't be protected

user, I commissioned that to cheer me up after SOI, nothing you can say will make me sad right now.

If they animated Avacyn's death they'd do the Elfen Lied thing where Sorin has a short, silent imagine sequence of a life where he never became a vampire and he and Avacyn lived a normal, happy life as humans as he watches her turn to ash.

It's not very effective.

It was effective for me.

Fuck. Avacyn will never not hurt. I don't even waifu her. How did I get this attached to a character printed on cardboard?

What if I just remind you that if Innistrad survives, no one will remember Avacyn as the protector a few years from now, but as the evil angel.

I feel you, references to things I haven't watched don't really bother me but I'm still far from over this, her death was super fucking sad, regardless of whether you waifu'd her or not it's really sad to see such a pure and noble character go out like that.

Okay, you got me, that's one of the thoughts that will destroy my mood, if WotC genuinely does something like that I will be so mad I'll probably just stop playing. Thanks user.

>Avacyn gets restored again
>being evil makes for horrible PR
>But she still protects Innistrad
>"She's the hero Innistrad deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So they'll hunt her. Because she can take it. Because she's not our hero. She's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark angel." - Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

That's something I don't think Sorin will allow, even if he is probably going to be dead inside after Eldritch Moon's events.

It is going to be hard for the angels, though, after Nahiri forced them to betray the once-absolute trust humanity had for them. I'm curious if Gisela and Bruna would be able to speak on Avacyn's behalf when they regain their senses or if they have to die, too. Gisela was Avacyn's only real friend, from what I remember.

I do hope Innistrad and the angels somehow survive all this shit, though, and that we're not sacing the plane to make up for Zendikar's incredibly unlikely salvation.

If this came to be it would be hilariously dumb, I think WotC sorely underestimates the depth of religious belief that has been ingrained for millennia. People in the real world are willing to kill themselves for a god that has no presence, I don't believe that people would give up on an material god that not only gave them strength but would answer their prayers in person over even this event.

All the lore from the original block states that the angels were amazingly ineffectual without Avacyn, it was even said that they cannot remain long in areas without Avacyn's wards else they lose their resolve and much of their strength which is why there's never many in Stensia. If Avacyn is to stay dead they either need a massive amount of retconning or pull some serious bullshit to explain how Innistrad can function at all. If indeed Innistrad survives.

Anyway, I'm going to bed, it's 6am.

The dark knight one is silly
but if Avacyn isn't restored in someway, people will forget the good she did within a generation because horrific amounts of murder leave more of an impression.

I feel like Innistrad's population is going to be fairly desensitized to that shit by now. Literally everything on the plane does horrific amounts of murder, including humans against other humans.

I'm going to make one more post from bed because this annoys me. That level of religious indoctrination doesn't just go away in one generation, the entirety of Innistrad's structure is built around her and the church and there are immortal beings to remind people of who she really was. Unless for some reason all the angels also forsake her there's no way Innistrad will remember her for those actions, her actions as The Purifier didn't even stretch across even most of Innistrad. She'll be remembered as their Angel of Hope or I'll be so fed up with the constant grimdark bullshit I'll just write the whole block off as not worth thinking about.

I don't seem to have an Avacyn on my phone so have second best angel instead.

Wait, if their goddess turned on them
will they trade their tricorn hats in for Fedoras the next set?

Hey, your phone must have messed up because that's not Sigarda
Also, they'll probably never really trust angels again after this incident.

Omg. I want this. It's perfect.

>have to die, too. Gisela was Avacyn's only real friend, from what I remember.
For real? Where was that stated? Were they buddies? I thought from what Sigarda said, Avacyn was as far-removed from the angels as the angels were from humans.

magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/planeswalkers-guide-avacyn-restored-part-1-2012-04-11

>Gisela, the leader of Flight Goldnight, was devastated in the aftermath of Avacyn's disappearance. Gisela was one of the few witnesses to the battle between Avacyn and Griselbrand. She had been the archangel's confidant, closest ally, and strongest sword. And when she watched Griselbrand strike Avacyn with a killing blow and trap her in the Helvault, Gisela experienced emotions she'd never felt before: fear, helplessness, and despair.

This does imply some interesting things, namely that Avacyn wasn't just robotic if she confided in Gisela, and also that the thought of losing Avacyn hurt Gisela in a way that the death of her sister centuries before did not.

So I think it's safe to say Gisela and Avacyn's bond was special, while Sigarda admired Avacyn but kept her distance.

And not just for the mental image of Avacyn in leathers riding a motorcycle I trust.

Fuck you stop it. My dick can only get so hard.

>the killing blow
But isn't Avacyn indestructible?

All indestructible means is that you don't die when you get struck by a killing blow.
Which is why trample gets through indestructible creatures.
Also Gisela and Avacyn lesbian time?

Well, they aren't related like the other angels, since Avacyn is born of a different light, soooo....It's not incest.

But in all seriousness, I would never defile them like that.

How would I go about making a griffon flake?

figure out why the fuck it's sentient first, because griffons are /not/, and thus cannot traditionally be walkers.
Maybe have it originally be a nayan leonin that achieved pseudo-angelhood from bant magic to become something of a sentient griffon?

Please pick something that naturally has more intelligence.

Griffon comes from a plane where Griffons are sapient and gets really pissed off that everyone assumes they are a mindless beast.
But that's the best part, you wouldn't be defiling them
they'd do that to each other

But I'd be enjoying it with my mind. And that is wrong. Let the dead rest, I say.

A great man once said that no one is truly dead as long as someone is jerking it to a fantasy of them having lesbian sex. Or something like that.
By not touching yourself, you're killing Avacyn again
why do you hate her so much?

>Sorin didn't kill Avacyn
>He just sent her essence to somewhere she could be happy

> like Vronak's spellbook

Yo. Not sure if you're interested or not, but I thought of a way to incorporate into her story without seeming trashy, erp, or out of character. And it's a way to not only finish her story, but return it to her "motherhood theme" roots and bring it to a full circle ending. I can then finally put that flake to rest while still having a rounded story.

Sssshh....

But that doesn't make it as fun as Gaia just wanting to get out there and not caring about her past life at all.

>Vronak sometimes summons Avacyn outside of battle just to hug her and tell her it's going to be alright.
>This is mostly for him though and it just confuses the mana construct.

But her not caring at all is not in character for her. At the time she forged her plane (and throughout its existence) she was pretty much caring incarnate.

And through that she just used up all of her fucks.
kidding aside, I will respect whatever characterization gaia-user wants to give her.

Also, fun was never a part of her narrative. It was all about sacrifice, balance, responsibility, motherhood, and tragedy.

You're right that this is the event that finally breaks her (feeling every soul she ever birthed die one by one all the while the plane and her soul are literally wrent assunder), but it does not break her in such a way that she becomes a carefree slut.

Then don't make her a carefree slut, she wants to use the new experiences and parties as a way to forget.
But maybe not every bit of characterization needs to be followed with "woe is me"
Have Gaia slip into Nihilism after feeling that, but the "Hey, this world is completely arbitrary time for adventure." instead of depression.

I know that's what I would do if I could summon an Avacyn, just hug the construct and maybe sob into her wings and ask her why it had to be this way.

It's not necessarily "woe is me", bit I do think some sort of major depression would be appropriate. Tragedy has always been one of those key things to the character's story. For example, even her ascension had her die in battle and then be denied access to the halls of the dead.

Des-chan here. I'm always up for aiding some writefagging. And would be happy to continue building upon it. So, whatcha have in mind?

Just wait until my writefagging epic is finish.

Calling what you're writing an 'epic' sets up high expectations that you may not live up to.

Agreed. Maybe just call it a long-winded writefagging. There's a reason why we call these write"fagging". Same reason why all flakes are equally shit.

If it's the one with prophecy bunny, my expectations are low.

That's nice.

I wasn't actually planning a writefagging, but this is basically the outline I had in mind:
_________

As I said before, the loss of Gaia’s plane utterly broke her. Throughout her long life, she had seen much and been through strife before. But losing her greatest creation, feeling every last soul she had ever birthed die one by one, feeling the pocket of space-time that her very essence had been woven into collapse, and then at last watching her long lost husband (who was responsible for the tragedy) fade away into nothing destroyed her will to live. (Not to mention she had finally been affected by the Mending)

She wanders the planes aimlessly for a short while, adrift and devastated. She eventually finds herself in the kind of place where people who have nothing else left and nothing to live for wind up. I’m not entirely sure what this place is or where it is, so you can adlib that yourself (as well as what sort of things happen there). But I was picturing some kind of opium den, where people go to blast their brains with drugs and hedonism until they can’t think anymore. She spends most of her time here in a semi-conscious stupor. As I said in the other post, her behavior is inherently self-destructive, and she really doesn’t want to exist anymore. But due to a habit of living or other reasons (such as Eldar souls are immortal and killing herself will probably not end her pain, it would just end her physical form), won't just up and off herself.

>cont'd

And it is in this pit of despair and depravity that her final son, Belagir, finds her (whether this is by chance or intentional I will leave to your imagination). For those who don’t know, Belagir is native to Gaia’s realm, and was the only person living at the time of its collapse that had the capacity to ascend. So when the plane was destroyed, his spark ignited and he planeswalked away before he was consumed by the dying realm. Pic related is his sheet for reference.

Though he had never met Gaia in a physical form before, he knew the sound of her voice and the look of her face from his dreams back home (for she often spoke to him in that way, or sang to him in his dreams, as any mother singing her child to sleep might do). Belagir has a gentle heart, and he could not bear to see the mother of his realm and his very soul in such a state. So he took her away from there, and back to the small house where he had been staying. The elderly man who owned the house (a man whom Belagir had befriended) recognized the look of concern on the young bard’s face and admitted Gaia to stay with them. When the old man asked, Belagir told him she was his mother. Keep in mind, Gaia is probably barely conscious this whole time, because ridiculous amounts of opiates can do that to a person.

>cont'd

Belagir sets up a small and clean room in the house for Gaia to rest in. He spends much of his time there, caring for his ailing mother. He plays his harp and sings to her. He hums the same lullabies he used to sing to the trees and the stars back home, and through these songs he sorrowfully remembers his dead plane. But Gaia’s recovery does not go smoothly. On good days, she tosses and turns constantly, muttering words Belagir can’t understand. But between the pains of withdrawal and the music she once knew as the World Core, terrible memories, vivid and strong, come flooding unbidden into her mind. Death is all she can see, all she can hear.

She does not sleep through the nights, and screams things in old dead languages that the other residents of the house cannot understand. And on some nights her screams just turn into desperate sobs, begging anyone or anything for the substances that had numbed her mind before. Anything to not remember the images of death. She is an utterly pathetic sight, and a far cry from the immense being she once was. If you’ve ever seen The Last Samurai, remember that scene where Tom Cruise’s character is withdrawaling from alcohol and keeps having ptsd flashbacks of his previous battles? I imagine something similar to that.

>cont'd

Yeah, I'll continue this in a few minutes. But I have to run some errands to the store real quick.

I do find it interesting that Avacyn and Gisela are particularly close while Avacyn and Sigarda were not, and I like that it ties into the secondary colors well.

Sigarda admires Avacyn, but at the same time she is W/G, and even though she's in the right when they do come into conflict she does keep her distance for the very W/G reason "she's not like us."

Gisela, on the other hand, is W/R, and so while the other angels looked up to Avacyn it was possible only Gisela really tried to empathize with her instead of putting her on a pedestal but recognizing she was not like the rest of them.

It probably won't be touched on in the actual lore, but I just like the notion that Gisela might have been the angel Avacyn confided in, and her closest ally in the angelic hosts, simply because she was the only one of the sisters that thought Avacyn needed a friend.

That makes some sense, actually. It makes me wonder how Bruna saw Avacyn, then.

Something great that she aspired to become and to understand, more likely than not. If Gisela was a friend and Sigarda was a colleague, Bruna was likely a student.

So then, did the last sister see her as a rival?

Do you think that sister joined with the demon lord because she was threatened by Avacyn and wanted to remove her? After all, before Avacyn came along the BW angel reigned. She was the greatest of their number and their leader.

Maybe she was Tsundere for Avacyn

It would fit her part of the color pie.

Black's unlikely to see anyone more powerful than it as anything other than one of two things:
>A source of power for itself.
>A threat.

Alright. I have created a new plane, race, and flake to go along with it.

Tell me what you all think.

...

...

Someone needs to make a Vanilla Ice Planesbwapper
youtube.com/watch?v=6ReyfMyPEWs
youtube.com/watch?v=9pnkx_5QrlI